Nobel Prize-winning scientist Geoffrey Hinton believes artificial intelligence could surpass human intelligence alarmingly soon. In an interview during Nobel Week in Stockholm, the renowned AI researcher shared his concerns about the future of the technology he helped create.
“In between 5 and 20 years from now there’s a good chance a 50% chance we’ll get AI smarter than us,” Hinton stated, reflecting on the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence capabilities.
Hinton, who received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking work on neural networks, distinguished between short-term and existential risks of AI. While immediate concerns include job displacement, misinformation through fake videos, and enhanced cyber attacks, he sees a more profound long-term threat.
“What we’re doing is we’re making things more intelligent than ourselves,” Hinton explained. “The question is what’s going to happen when we’ve created beings that are more intelligent than us, and we don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ve never been in that situation before.”
Hinton pushed back against the notion that humans will necessarily maintain control over superintelligent systems. He noted that these AI systems aren’t traditional computer programs but rather systems that extract structure from data in ways similar to how humans learn.
Looking back on his career, Hinton expressed regret about not considering the existential implications of his work earlier. He had always thought superintelligence was far in the future, a problem for later generations to solve.
When asked about his Nobel Prize money, Hinton revealed he donated half to improving water safety in indigenous communities in Canada. The other half will fund a prize for young researchers developing innovative theories about how the brain works — continuing the legacy of discovery that defined his career.
Featured image: Credit: Arthur Petron, Wikipedia
